A Different Kind Of Prison
by MichelleTheVampGirl
Summary: They were the most earnest, and sincere words Rapunzel had ever heard Eugene speak, and when she opened her eyes, she saw a look on his face that made her realise something with absolute certainty.


"Come on Blondie!"

Rapunzel let out a giggle and chased after Eugene, shaking her short hair in disbelief at her old nickname.

"You know my hair isn't blonde anymore right?"

Eugene stopped running and turned to face her, hands on his hips with one eyebrow raised coyly. Rapunzel would never tell him, but she had spent many hours in front of the mirror trying to copy his arrogant smirk, but she would get one glimpse at her own "smoulder" and burst out laughing.

"Well, what do you _want_ me to call you? Brownie? It doesn't have quite the same ring to it."

Rapunzel playfully punched him on the arm, and watched in amusement as Eugene feigned being wounded and fell to the ground clutching his shoulder. Rapunzel picked up her skirts and walked purposefully around Eugene's "injured" form, her dainty nose held with dignity up in the air.

"You can call me Rapunzel, or Princess."

Eugene laughed and picked himself up off the ground, snatching a quick glimpse out the corner of his eye at Rapunzel, blushing slightly and turning away from him. After being together for a few months, she was still nervous around him. Well, that's what happens when you grow up in a tower and had no contact with anyone except an evil old woman until you're 18.

Rapunzel bit her lip when she caught Eugene staring at her, and ran her fingers through her hair out of habit, always surprised when suddenly her fingers reached the tips of her short brown tresses and she's left clutching thin air.

"Soooo... where are we going exactly?"

Eugene took Rapunzel's hand that was left awkwardly in mid air, and gazed at her adoringly.

"I'm taking you someplace that I think you should see."

And with that, he laced his fingers through hers and the pair continued walking through the forest.

...

Rapunzel stared in disbelief at the building in front of her, absolutely appalled at what Eugene had shown her.

The old granite grey bricks were crumbling and moss was growing in sickly green patches throughout the depressing grey stone. Windows were shattered, so Rapunzel could see that from the inside they were barred. The roof was falling apart, and the sign over the massive wrought iron door was weathered to point of illegibility. The entire building screamed of desolation and despair, the decrepit, worn down frame appeared to have harboured so much misery and sadness.

Rapunzel turned to Eugene with large green eyes on the brink of tears.

"Eugene..." she whispered quietly, a large tear spilling from beneath her eyelid and rolling down her cheek.

"Please, don't tell me..." Her voice cracked, and he wiped away her tear and squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"Yes, this is the Orphanage I grew up in. I just wanted you to see it."

Rapunzel turned away from the building, her thin arms wrapped securely around her torso. She was horrified that Eugene had experienced such a miserable upbringing. She couldn't imagine living in a place so barren and devoid of any love... Except she could imagine it. Her tower might have been more comfortable and pleasant, but it was her prison. This was Eugene's.

"So that's why you brought me here..."

She jumped slightly as she felt Eugene wrap his arms around hers, his chin resting on her shoulder. Rapunzel turned to face him, and saw the hurt and pain in his eyes.

"Oh Eugene!" She threw her arms around his neck, and crushed her face to his chest. Eugene was mildly startled, but pressed his face into her silky hair and held onto her waist with mild desperation.

He was the first to pull back from the hug, and Rapunzel's eyes widened when she saw the moisture in Eugene's eyes. He wasn't crying, but this was the closest she had ever seen him to it. He seemed to realise how devastated his pain made her feel, so he turned away from her, leaning casually against a tree in a display of nonchalance that didn't have anyone fooled.

"This was my childhood home, for years I never thought there could be anything brighter to my life. Everything was grey. Until I met you."

Eugene turned around to look at Rapunzel, his misty eyes were gone, replaced with a glow in his golden brown eyes that made her heart skip a beat.

"You think I saved you from a horrible life, that I rescued you from unhappiness." Eugene shook his head, and stepped forward to cup one of Rapunzel's cheeks in his hand, which she leaned into with closed eyes, both of her tiny hands clenched onto his.

"You were the one who saved me."

They were the most earnest, and sincere words Rapunzel had ever heard Eugene speak, and when she opened her eyes, she saw a look on his face that made her realise something with absolute certainty.

She loved him.

"No." She whispered quietly, and kissed him very gently on the cheek.

"We saved each other."


End file.
